With a great promise to see wildlife and a pleasant experience, I was really enjoying the start of the cruise and the surrounding scenery, listening the crew member’s jokes on the upper deck, under a balmy sun. A colourful mix of local humour, stories and songs captured everyone’s attention, including myself. That was when I heard the local joke about the Newfoundland roads, but that’s another story.

I didn’t really notice when the blue sky turned dull grey, and when the calm waters became choppy. I suddenly found myself swinging from a side to another, unable to get a steady grip on my camera.

Getting so edgy, I decided it was time to go downstairs, but will I be able to walk down to the lower deck, or even grab the rails? They seem so far from my sit.. Should I stay, or should I try going downstairs? This was the moment I started to doubt if this cruise was for me..

It was our third day in Newfoundland, and we had decided we were going to Witless Bay, where the largest Atlantic puffin colony in North America is. After a little mishap, looking for the wrong bay, we found the boat just in time.

Little did I know about the offshore weather, how bumpy a ride can suddenly be, and I found myself stranded on the lower deck, looking blandly at some grey waters. Although the trip started under a blue sky, which turned grey in a short time, the second part of it didn’t sound promising either, even tough a crew member came after me, making sure I was ok. His little chit-chat didn’t help much, neither his assurance that the boat can handle 3 meters high waves. He promised, however, that after chasing some more or less visible whales in these cold waters, we would head to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, where the waters would be much calmer. Phew, that’s what I was looking for!

Puffins arrive early May, and can be seen in large numbers through till mid September, with a few staying till the 3^rd week of September. Not far from St. John’s, Witless Bay Ecological Reserve is home to more than 500,000 Atlantic puffins, and we soon arrived in calmer waters, cruising around the main islands of the reserve.

The time to see other seabirds (murres, guillemots, Northern gannets, kittiwakes, and more) is great in July, as the breeding season is in full swing. No wonder why Newfoundland was nicknamed the Seabird Capital of North America: over 35 million seabirds love this place!

It was both funny to watch, and interesting to learn about these cute creatures, although the heavy fog and the choppy waters didn’t let us enjoy the sights too much. The reserve contains four islands: Gull, Green, Great, and Pee Pee, and we went around a couple of them.

We had great sighting of black-legged kittiwakes, and common murres as well, but the great show was offered by the puffins, with their cute faces and short wings. Such a party, sometimes the noise they made covered the tour guide’s voice. Too bad the weather wasn’t so great, but overall, it was a good experience to see all these thousands of birds living in their own habitat.

If you like birdwatching, you might like to read: The sound of the spring

As we continued our journey around the Avalon Peninsula, along Irish Loop on Route 10, we did birdwatch basically at every stop. With so many millions of seabirds coming to this island, it is very hard not to see them.

We weren’t able to buy tickets well in advance to Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve UNESCO World Heritage to see fossils, however we did do a couple of trails along the Edge of Avalon, at Portugal Cove South. Here we found out that St Vincent’s beach is actually a great place to spot whales right from the shore. It was even better, since the location was right on our way to Branch, where we were going to spend the night.

Most of the time whales come along the shores in search for food, and the capelin rolling happening in July is the main reason why the whales are spotted close to the land. We were not lucky enough to see any whales, but instead the Northern Gannets gave us an unforgettable show. With a wing span of two metres, the Gannet is a graceful flier with a streamlined body. Aided by binocular vision, the gannets can plunge for fish from heights up to 30 metres, reaching speeds of 100 km/hr.

If you like birdwatching, you might like to read about: Wildlife around Buckhorn Lake.

After a night in Branch, where we had the chance to see a caribou right from our living room window, our next target was Cape St Mary’s Ecological reserve.

A wonderland for birdwatchers and explorers alike, Cape St Mary’s is the most accessible seabird rookery in North America. But the Cape is sometimes shrouded in fog, which makes it difficult to fully appreciate the beauty of the place. But, by the time we used the washroom, the fog started to lift, which encouraged us to head to the Bird Rock, which is about 1.4 km from the Interpretative Center.

Bird Rock is actually a 200-foot-high sea stack nearby the mainland cliffs. Being inaccessible to land predators, it made the perfect nesting site for seabirds. Bird Rock is the third-largest nesting site and southernmost colony of Northern Gannets in North America. It is also the southernmost breeding area for thick-billed murres in the world. The site is overflowing with many types of seabirds, which, together with the stunning rugged cliffs make for an amazing sight.

It was a great place to see the competition between different species, resulting in the hierarchical sorting of species in the colony. It was one of the most amazing places we’ve been to watch birds. The noise the gannets made was overwhelming with their powerful voice, but not only. Several other types of birds provided a view that hardly made me want to leave. By the time we got back to the Interpretative Centre, the fog had once again enveloped the coast. I felt so fortunate!

If you like birdwatching, you might like to read about: House wrens and how to paint a bird house.

As we headed north, towards the Bonavista Peninsula, I hadn’t anticipated much more bird sighting, except maybe for Elliston. But an unexpected puffin sighting awaited us at the tip of the Bonavista peninsula, where the lighthouse is located. Another sea stack was home to many Atlantic puffins, that gave us another nice show. As the sky was blue this time, and the visibility great, I was just hoping to see some fledgling along the nesting holes, but nope, only parents keeping a close eye on the nests.

Nicknamed ‘sea parrots’ or ‘sea clowns’ for their cute appearance, the Atlantic puffins actually have a hard life. From September to March, they spend the winter on the seas and oceans, regardless of the weather, flying, swimming or floating on the water. They come ashore only in April, when it’s the mating season. They usually give birth to one chick only, which, around mid-August, when it is 6 weeks old and ready to spend its life at sea, the chick takes flight at night, when it’s dark. They will not return to shore for the next three years.

If you like wildlife, you might like to read about: Wildlife along Icefields pathway, Alberta

Although our last stop at the Bonavista lighthouse was another great place to watch birds, especially the Atlantic puffins, we still had to stop at Elliston. Elliston is a nice addition to your itinerary if you are in the area.

The puffin is the official bird of Newfoundland & Labrador, and Elliston has one of the closest land views of puffins in North America. We found a large parking lot across the main street before heading to the viewing site. While the parking and the site are for free, there is a small donation box. This is one of the most amazing things about birdwatching in Newfoundland. It’s free. Except the cruise, all the sites we’ve been to were free of charge.

This was yet another rewarding place. Not only the seascape is fantastic, with the rugged cliffs and the sea stacks nearby, but the birdwatching exceeded so much our expectations. After three or four hundred metres from the street, we found ourselves at the edge of the cliff, where I thought I would have the best view. But then I saw several people, sitting or even lying at the edge of the shore, where a few puffins were keeping busy.

I then walked slowly myself, sitting down, and trying not to make any sudden movements, like everyone else.

I could not believe how close we can get.

It was like a tête-à-tête; a magical dream with a magical friend.

~visited in July 2023